His attention was particularly captured by the presentation of the new Quattroporte Sport GT S, photographed at the Maserati stand set up at the North American International Auto Show. The piece also boasts a huge image of the Maserati ‘Boyle Special’, the car that won at Indianapolis in 1939 and 1940. Maserati’s Chief Executive, Harald Wester, is also depicted in a third photo (“He is one of the very few managers to have closed 2008 in the black”), states the article. “A record 2008. A cabrio will appear in 2009” is the lead in to press conference during which Wester defines the project as “a third leg. A model that will allow us to reinforce our position and that will enable us to reach the numbers we are aiming for”. Artemi asks: “Will the GranTurismo appear as a cabriolet?”. “Maybe”, comes the reply. “Let’s just say that it will be car you can enjoy the sun in and have the wind rushing through your hair…”.

The piece underlines the company’s pragmatic, feet on the ground approach despite a second consecutive year of record sales. “We will not be battling against certain manufacturers of luxury cars that offer incentives of up to $35,000”, continues Wester.

The closing section is given over to the “shift of American producers to electric cars”, as Artemi puts it. “What needs to be done is change the mentality of American drivers and direct them towards technologically advanced engines. These will consume less and have low emissions such as Fiat’s 1.3 Multijet turbodiesel. The words of Maserati’s CEO are honest and, in a separate column, are echoed by Maurizio Donelli, the editor of the Corriere della Sera’s Motori pullout. In an article entitled ‘Lies cause pain’, Donelli writes: “Finding a way out from petrol is an absolute imperative. Making people believe that we already have an out is a lie and counter-productive for those who make such statements. And yet the message we are receiving is clear: in the near future we will only drive electric cars. Rubbish”.